PHILADELPHIA —There were a lot of reasons Cherelle Parker's candidacy was never seen as a slam dunk.
She'd never run citywide. Observers said the Democratic Party machine that lined up behind her is weaker than it once was. The electricians' union that once ran city politics was dulled by scandal, and the days of Black organizers in Northwest Philly crowning mayors, some said, were behind them.
But in the end, Parker and those groups charted a course to the Democratic nomination. Supported by a coalition of labor unions and a bevy of Democratic elected officials, Parker ran up the score in Black and Latino neighborhoods, while also drawing substantial support in parts of Northeast Philadelphia.
